DWTS just celebrated its 20th birthday with a star-studded event. Former celebrities and pros returned to the studio in Los Angeles, California, for the special episode. It made fans nostalgic for the early seasons, but you won’t find them streaming anywhere. Keep reading to find out why.

Disney CEO Offers Update On YouTube Blackout

Television viewers who subscribe to YouTube’s live TV platform haven’t been able to watch anything on ESPN, ABC, or any other networks owned by Disney for weeks. Disney and Google, which owns YouTube, are locked in a battle and unable to come to terms for a new contract. As a result, YouTube subscribers have been missing out on their favorite sports teams and popular shows like DWTS and The View. 
‘DWTS’ Season 34 pros/Credit: YouTube
Networks owned by Disney have been blacked out on YouTube TV since the end of October. The streaming services began giving customers a $20 credit on their bill, but is there an end in sight?

In the latest update, Disney CEO Bob Iger told shareholders that the two companies are in negotiations. “We’re trying really hard, as I said working tirelessly, to close this deal, and we’re hopeful that we’ll be able to do so on a timely enough basis to at least give consumers the opportunity to access our content over their platform,” he said during a conference call.

Disney and Google are reportedly close to reaching a deal to restore ESPN and ABC services, but remain deadlocked over the other Disney-owned channels.
‘DWTS’ Carrie Ann Inaba/Credit: YouTube

Why DWTS Past Seasons Are Missing From Streaming Services

Ironically, YouTube is one of the only streaming services with footage from the early seasons of DWTS uploaded by viewers. The official ABC YouTube channel has videos of individual dances from the current and last few previous seasons. That’s about as good as fans can expect it to get regarding past seasons of DWTS.

An insider spilled to The U.S. Sun why it’s unlikely for the early seasons to ever hit Hulu, Disney+, Netflix, or other streaming services. It comes down to money. “The reason Dancing with the Stars past seasons aren’t available on streaming is because production cannot afford what it would cost for the music licensing,” the source said.

That’s the same reason why old episodes of soap operas and a lot of other shows are available on any streaming service. It’s just too expensive.

Furthermore, ABC would have to pay out residuals to previous cast members if the early seasons were available to stream. “The show would not be able to profit from streaming it. “And frankly, it’s just purely a business decision as to why it hasn’t happened yet,” the source added.

Seasons 31 to 34 are currently available on Disney+. However, only the current season is available on Hulu, which is merging into Disney+ next year.

One DWTS fan said on social media that they would shell out big bucks to subscribe to a dedicated streaming service of past seasons. Tell us in the comments which past season you would watch again if you could.